Florida has launched a new operation that will allow police and immigration officers to visit homes where unaccompanied migrant children live. The plan is called the UAC Safety Verification Initiative, and it began last month. The Department of Homeland Security says the goal is to protect children, but many people believe it is really a strategy to arrest more undocumented migrants during Trump’s second term.
Under this plan, local police will work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enter or inspect homes where migrant children stay. The government says it wants to stop child trafficking and abuse. However, migrant advocates say this is another way to track and deport parents and guardians who do not have legal papers. Many of the adults caring for these children are undocumented.
The Department of Homeland Security claims that more than 450,000 children were given to sponsors during the Biden administration without proper checks. Officials also point to cases where sponsors had criminal histories. One example involved a Guatemalan man who was arrested for rape and human trafficking after a 14-year-old girl he sponsored became pregnant. According to DHS, other cases involve drug crimes, domestic violence, and weapons.
Even though officials highlight these cases, experts say that most sponsors pass strict checks before taking a child. When migrant minors arrive in the U.S., they are placed under the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which performs screenings and often releases the child to a parent already living in the country. But under new Trump-era policies, many parents are now afraid to pick up their children because they may be arrested for being undocumented.
Advocates say the new rules make it almost impossible for undocumented relatives to sponsor children. Adults must now declare their immigration status, provide U.S. identification, show work documents, and sometimes complete DNA tests. Many undocumented migrants do not have these documents. Some children have even begged their parents not to pick them up because they fear their parents will be detained.
Because of these barriers, the number of children released to guardians has dropped sharply. In October, only 106 children were placed with sponsors, compared to more than 8,000 each month at the end of Biden’s term. Many children now stay in federal custody for months, sometimes nearly six months, instead of the usual 30 days. Some remain in custody until they turn 18, when they can be transferred to ICE.
The situation has pushed many children toward self-deportation. Conditions inside detention centers are tough, and children have limited contact with family. The Trump administration has removed legal representation for minors in immigration courts, leaving them to defend their asylum claims alone. They are now also offering $2,500 to children 14 and older if they agree to return to their home countries voluntarily.
Advocates say this shows that the program is not about child protection. They argue it is about increasing deportations of both adults and minors. Many of these children have strong asylum claims, but without support, legal help, or their families, they face pressure to leave. According to experts, the new operation creates a “perfect storm” that harms migrant children instead of helping them.